Urban Biorhythmicity

If we can take the fractal geometries of nature and break them down to find formations of rhythmic order, then perhaps the same can hold true for sound. Scientists have gained insight into the temperament of fragile ecosystems by recording and measuring biodiversity in soundscapes. We once asked whether the same might be done for the health of cities. Breakdown cityscape sounds and find at their essence a harmony of unified rhythms, the orchestrated pulse of the city that otherwise goes undetected.

Information Aesthetics pointed us to Sensing city [levenmustercollective.com], a live concert by an eleven-piece-ensemble which was occasionally influenced by urban rhythms, here the movement of cars outside the concert venue. As the passing cars triggered the rhythms that were being played, the city became audible through the musicians, even when the urban dwellers not knowingly were part of the composition.

While only an influence of urban rhythms, the concert hints at a possible new genre of city beat inspired classical music, or even hip hop. Mixing the language and pulse of the city which without lyrics reveals, if done effectively, an audible picture of the state of urbanism in way that graphs and charts could never show. Or, a new profession, "Urban Biorhythmicists", whose practitioners, monitor, study, and re-design the sounds of city sections to better sync with the overall composition.

In the meantime you can begin your training as a Urban Biorhythmicist with the iphone app RjDj.